Conversation with Sandra Guze

Yeah, I was, well, in your intro, which I got from your artist statement, obviously, that I love that you talk about playing.

I think it's so important to incorporate play into your art practice.

I think a lot of people forget that.

They get, I don't know, not rigid, but people get to be so like, oh, I gotta produce this, and I gotta do this, and people forget to play.

Just for

the sake of play.

Yeah.

And when I find myself, you know, edging away from that, that's when, you know, things aren't feeling right.

they're not feeling authentic.

They're not feeling like I'm getting at anything new, interesting.

I'm not getting at myself.

And I really feel like this is my means, my art is my means for my story.

And my materials become actually the words, the language for that story to unfold.

And I can't get at that.

unless I actually allow myself to.

I allow myself to by really enjoying it and relaxing and playing.

And it takes a long time to manipulate materials in ways.

I mean, sometimes I'm playing with three different things at once.

And it's really important that I don't even have an idea.

maybe some loose constraints.

Oh, this Emily Dickinson poem, that piece that I did in the show, with the life jacket.

You know, I had taken my my Emily Dickinson book of poetry to me in 2022 when I went to Vermont Studio Center to do a residency.

And she just always brings me to a place that is true, is genuine.

And so I stumbled on this poem, Drowning is Not So Pitiful.

And I knew that I was going to make a piece that had something to do with a life jacket.

Yeah, I was, well, in your intro, which I got from your artist statement, obviously, that I love that you talk about playing.

I think it's so important to incorporate play into your art practice.

I think a lot of people forget that.

They get, I don't know, not rigid, but people get to be so like, oh, I gotta produce this, and I gotta do this, and people forget to play.

Just for

the sake of play.

Yeah.

And when I find myself, you know, edging away from that, that's when, you know, things aren't feeling right.

they're not feeling authentic.

They're not feeling like I'm getting at anything new, interesting.

I'm not getting at myself.

And I really feel like this is my means, my art is my means for my story.

And my materials become actually the words, the language for that story to unfold.

And I can't get at that.

unless I actually allow myself to.

I allow myself to by really enjoying it and relaxing and playing.

And it takes a long time to manipulate materials in ways.

I mean, sometimes I'm playing with three different things at once.

And it's really important that I don't even have an idea.

maybe some loose constraints.

Oh, this Emily Dickinson poem, that piece that I did in the show, with the life jacket.

You know, I had taken my my Emily Dickinson book of poetry to me in 2022 when I went to Vermont Studio Center to do a residency.

And she just always brings me to a place that is true, is genuine.

And so I stumbled on this poem, Drowning is Not So Pitiful.

And I knew that I was going to make a piece that had something to do with a life jacket.